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The aim of the IBDU is to provide comprehensive care for patients with IBD (1,2). During the COVID-19 pandemic, telephone medical consultations and telemedicine training sessions were implemented to ensure patient safety (3). The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a difference in the degree of satisfaction between face-to-face and telephone care, as well as in the annual patient sessions.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently considered the most common cause of liver disease. Its prevalence is increasing in parallel with the obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) epidemics in developed countries. Several recent studies have suggested that NAFLD may be the hepatic manifestation of a systemic inflammatory metabolic disease that also affects other organs, such as intestine, lungs, skin and vascular endothelium. It appears that local and systemic proinflammatory/anti-inflammatory cytokine imbalance, together with insulin resistance and changes in the intestinal microbiota, are pathogenic mechanisms shared by NAFLD and other comorbidities. NAFLD is more common in patients with extrahepatic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obstructive syndrome apnea (OSA) and psoriasis than in the general population. Furthermore, there is evidence that this association has a negative impact on the severity of liver lesions. Specific risk characteristics for NAFLD have been identified in populations with IBD ( i.e . age, obesity, DM2, previous bowel surgery, IBD evolution time, methotrexate treatment), OSA ( i.e . obesity, DM2, OSA severity, increased transaminases) and psoriasis ( i.e . age, metabolic factors, severe psoriasis, arthropathy, elevated transaminases, methotrexate treatment). These specific phenotypes might be used by gastroenterologists, pneumologists and dermatologists to create screening algorithms for NAFLD. Such algorithms should include non-invasive markers of fibrosis used in NAFLD to select subjects for referral to the hepatologist. Prospective, controlled studies in NAFLD patients with extrahepatic comorbidities are required to demonstrate a causal relationship and also that appropriate multidisciplinary management improves these patients' prognosis and survival., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

The population of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and solid organ transplant (SOT) is increasing. Two clinical scenarios exist, recurrence of pre-existing IBD, which is more common, and de novo development of IBD, with a much higher incidence than in the general population. Their clinical course differs and may have a negative impact on the graft in both cases. The pathophysiological mechanisms remain unknown and no specific treatment recommendations are available. The combined effect of biologic therapy against IBD and immunosuppressive therapy against a potential rejection means that close monitoring is mandatory to identify infection, autoimmune events and malignancies. The colorectal cancer (CRC) rate is higher in this population. The group at greatest risk are patients with IBD undergoing liver transplantation (LT) for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).

Although corticosteroids are an effective treatment for induction of remission in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), many patients are dependent on or refractory to corticosteroids. This review is based on scrutinizing current literature with emphasis on randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and Cochrane reviews on the management of IBD refractory to corticosteroids. Based on this evidence, we propose algorithms and optimization strategies for use of immunomodulator and biologic therapy in IBD refractory to corticosteroids.

Background: Hyperhomocysteinemia has been recently described in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), that could be related to the increased risk for thrombosis that exists in this disease. The aim of this study was the assessment of hyperhomocysteinemia in patients with IBD and its relation among vitamin B12 and folate levels, and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C-->T and 1298A-->C mutations., Patients and Methods: Fifty two consecutive patients with IBD were studied (29 women and 23 men); age: mean (standard deviation 41.7 [11.9] years) and 186 controls with no difference in age and gender. Hyperhomocysteinemia was considered as homocysteine levels higher than mean plus two standard deviations of the control group (> or = 13 micromol/l)., Results: patients had an elevated prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia (17.3 vs. 3.7%; p = 0.002) and lower folate (7.6 [4.1] vs. 8.9 [3.7] ng/ml; p = 0.01) and B12 vitamin levels (499 [287] vs. 603 [231] pg/ml; p = 0.003). Homocysteinemia was higher (14.3 [5.8] vs. 9.1 [3.9] micromol/l; p = 0.006) in 6 patients (11.5%) that had suffered thromboembolism. Frequency of MTHFR 677C-->T (13.5 vs. 11.3%; p = 0.66) and 1298A-->C (7.8 vs. 7.0%; p = 0.76) mutations was not increased in patients. Odds ratio (OR) for IBD in hyperhomocysteinemic patient was 5.51, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.81-16.76; p = 0.002). Hyperhomocysteinemia was negatively associated with feminine gender (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01-0.49; p = 0.006) and folate levels (OR 0.04, 95%CI: 0.007-0.20; p < 0.001)., Conclusions: hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with IBD and low folate levels, and could be involved in development of thromboembolism. MTHFR 677C-->T and 1298A-->C mutations are not related with the disease.

Background: The progressive character of the hepatic lesions in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has not been well established. In the present study, the clinical and histological course of this condition was evaluated at medium term., Methods: Then patients (6 females and 4 males) with NASH, in a non-cirrhotic stage at the time of diagnosis, were followed up during 58 +/- 7 months (range 24 to 88 months)., Results: Nine patients were obese, but a significant reduction of body weight was found at the end of the study (p = 0.0072). Other clinical, physical or laboratory changes were not found, although in two cases hepatic biochemical tests were within normal limits when the follow-up biopsy was performed. Changes in the characteristic hepatic features were also absent, although fat infiltrates disappeared in three cases. Six patients had increased fibrosis and a progression of the hepatic architectural distortion; four reached the stage of cirrhosis. The evolution of the hepatic lesion correlated with the interval between diagnostic and follow-up biopsies (r = 0.69; p less than 0.05) and with the reduction in body weight (r = 0.64; p less than 0.05)., Conclusions: In most cases, NASH results in a progressive hepatic distortion with can end in cirrhosis, although the change is slow and silent.